


Winter Walks

by Hi0ctane



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek, Bets, Derek Hale is Bad at Feelings, ESSS17, Fluff, Gen, Kissing, M/M, More Fluff, Pack feelings, eternalstereksecretsanta17, winter feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2019-02-13 22:05:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12993480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hi0ctane/pseuds/Hi0ctane
Summary: Stiles looks for the Alpha pack on his own. He doesn’t know that he’s being followed by Derek and his pack. (Set after S2)





	Winter Walks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DominikaDecember](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DominikaDecember/gifts).



> written for dominikadecember:
> 
> Happy Holidays! Hopefully you enjoy this little fluffy piece of winter feelings. May your days and nights be happy and bright, and may this story make you smile for a bit! :)

Stiles grumbled silently to himself as he put up the red cowl and dug his hands deep into the pockets of his equally red hoodie while he walked through the woods. For once winter had reached the outskirts of California, and for the first time in over a decade thick snow fell down from the sky, painting everything in shades of black and white around him. It was a beautiful sight.

But it also destroyed some of the signs he'd been following for a while.

He had asked Scott to join him, earlier, but the werewolf was too busy spending time with Allison in the (quite frankly idiotic) hope to get her back. But well, nothing Stiles wasn't used to by now.

This year Scott surely wouldn't end up with the best friend award, he promised himself silently. Stiles kicked away some frosted-over dirt and continued his trek deeper into the eerie silent woods of the Beacon Hills preserve. He had been here his fair share before - stepping into the darkness of the tree lines, searching for bodies or hidden criminals, he'd all done it. But for some reason the thick, cloudy skies and the faint rustle of snow underneath made the area feel all the more creepy to him...

He could see fog creeping in and his own breath was visible clearly as he let out a huff.

But still, he had a mission. He knew that another pack had entered their town and he wanted to find out more. Scott wasn't interested in it at all, but Stiles couldn't sit still.

He had seen the mark on Derek's door after all, and if that wasn't a clear warning sign, then what?

He grumbled as he walked on when something called for his attention. Stiles crouched low, brushed some snow away from the ground, and frowned. One of his sneaky traps had been broken… So somebody had been here. And he had a hunch that it wasn't a member of their own ragtag group... 

Stiles watched the small puff of air escape his mouth as he waited, carefully watching his surroundings. The falling snow had probably obscured any traces of footprints by now, but maybe he was lucky and... 

"What are you doing alone in the woods, Little Red?" a smug voices behind him resounded, making him jump. Derek stood behind him, fangs on display in a sharp, casual smirk, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. Stiles hadn't heard him at all.

"Oh holy fucking fuck!!! Derek!"

He pretty much yelled out in shock as he got up and faced the wolf with a frown.

"Man! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Why not? It's always so rewarding." 

Normally Stiles would be worried about his whole get-up - really, leather jackets did jack shit to keep anyone warm - but Derek was a werewolf, and he probably didn't even feel the chill. 

Behind him Isaac, Erica and Boyd circled closer, looking past him and relaxing visibly as they saw that it was Stiles, not a predator or foreign alpha that wanted to maim them. Stiles rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Yeah sure. If I die of a sudden heart attack at the ass-end of nowhere, California, you're the one to tell my Dad what happened. And he will shoot your balls off. One by one, trust me."

When the pack was close and took their places slightly behind Derek, Stiles began to feel slightly weird. They weren't really friends, after all.

"He would," Derek said, nodding slowly as if in agreement. But his tone sobered soon, turned darker and more serious. 

"What are you doing here? Alone, of all things."

"Why? Are you worried about me, big guy?" Stiles asked with a mocking wink before he wrinkled his nose as a particularly big snowflake fell onto it.

The pack said nothing. 

"Well, me? I looooove talking walks through woods. You of all people should know."

"Last time you took a walk through my backyard you were looking for my sister's dead body," Derek reminded him drily. His brows drew together, a sharp v of annoyance that made him look disgustingly handsome of all things. 

"So what is it?"

"...aaactually, the last time I was here, we had Jackson locked up in a police car," Stiles corrected him with a grin that faded as Derek's look didn't improve at all.

"Is it so unbelievable that I just wanted to take a walk? Alone?"

"It's snowing for the first time in how many years and you're crouching on the floor next to what looks like a trap, way off the pathways. So, yes. Very unbelievable." 

Derek crossed his arms. Behind him, Isaac snickered quietly.

"Uh...."

Stiles made a face and looked from Derek to the others. Boyd's expression was unreadable and Erica just grinned.

"Oh man.."

He groaned and dragged his hood down further into his face, kicking away one stone on the ground with a sour face.

"I was looking for the other pack.”

"Alone? And you think that was a wise decision?" 

Derek's eyes narrowed as he looked at Stiles closely. 

"What if they were around, huh? What if they found you instead?"

"But they aren't," Stiles grumbled, pulling a small bag from his pocket. " I got mountain ash with me. And I'm clever. This trap was destroyed hours ago."

"You couldn't have known. And your little mountain ash trick may be impressive, but not very useful in an one-on-one encounter." Derek continued to stare him down, his quiet pack behind him. "Why didn't you take Scott along?"

Stiles put the bag back and let out a groan.

"He wanted to spend time with Allison. But really, what's it to you all?"

He looked at the pack, one after the other.

"You don't need to pretend to care. Erica got me needing stitches after hitting me with parts of my car. Oh and the repair made me witness a killing, and almost ate my entire money on top of that. Boyd ignores me most of the time. Isaac, well he's okay, if he's not trying to be a dick. Hich he does. Constantly. And you, Derek, I can't remember how often you insisted that neither of us trusted the other. So - shoo! Go your way and let me continue before he snow ruins all my precious tracks."

"The tracks are already ruined. And you don't know half about the dangers you're currently in," Derek growled, uncrossing his arms and stepping closer, up into Stiles personal space. 

"You may not trust me one bit, Stiles, but I'm not letting you get killed by a pack of foreigners in my territory. So you're stuck with us, if you want it or not."

Stiles made a face between a pout and a frown. He hadn't seen Derek for weeks now, not since the winter holiday started. Dimly he realized they both seemed to have grown a bit, both in height and muscles, although Stiles' muscles weren't really visible underneath his layers of protective clothes.

And his hair was back, which the wolf probably hadn't seen yet, but he wasn't one parading around with his looks.

"I can walk back to my car on my own, thank you."

"You were looking for tracks," Derek reminded him, raising his brow in a challenging glance. Behind him Isaac had to bite back a quiet laugh, taking half a step forward. Boyd held him back with a solid hand pressed into his shoulder.

"What Derek means is we're going to help you look for these other werewolves, if you want it or not. It's not just your problem."

He raised an eyebrow at that and looked at Isaac, almost dumbfounded.

"Why would you help me if you don't trust me? Wouldn't it make more sense to make me go back to my car?"

"And have you get back here in secret at the earliest opportunity?" Derek said with a huff. "No. I know you, Stiles. You won't just stay away from trouble."

"A...h...."

Stiles pressed his lips together at that and tensed, actually showing a pout on his lips. Erica giggled.

"Yeah, so? Why make it your problem? You're here with your pack, I'm considered a part of Scott's, why do you bother?"

There words made Derek flash his teeth - sharp, Stiles realized; not wolfed-out sharp, but slightly pointed nontheless - in obvious annoyance. 

"This is my territory, Stiles. We don't have to be in seperate packs. You know that there's room for you and Scott with us."

"Oh...?" The human raised an eyebrow and glanced at Derek, genuinely unafraid. "For Scott, yeah. I was aware. But for me? Why that?"

Derek's face softened slightly. 

"My family has always valued humans as part of the pack. You're cunning. And your plans are usually good." He let out his breath in a small puff of warm air. "You'd be a valued pack member."

"...Oh...."

The words made Stiles stare at him, blinking owlishly. He didn't want to admit it, but he felt touched and actually really liked to hear them.

"Uhm. Thanks. But I can't leave Scott alone."

"Which is why we want him, too," Erica said from behind Derek, shrugging easily. 

"It's simple. You can't be a pack together, anyway. He doesn't know how to lead, and he's no alpha."

Stiles slumped at this. Of course they'd want Scott. Everyone wanted Scott. And seemingly everyone got a part of him, except for his best friend.

"Talk to Scott if you want anything from him", he said with a shrug. His nose started to get red and his lips slightly pale from all that standing around in the snow. He longed to move.

"I'm just his friend and don't see myself as a part of any 'pack', at least not in sense you mean it. So, yeah, was nice meeting you all, but I'm getting really cold here?"

"We're talking about you now," Derek said, frowning. "Not Scott. So leave him out of the picture. Whatever he decided on is his choice, and we have to respect it." 

Surprisingly mature.

"But you're right - it's freezing. So we should get a move on. Look for the pack."

The confusion was back in Stiles’ face and he glanced up, staring at Derek with a frown… But then he nodded, making some snow fall off his hood.

"Do that. I think I'll better turn back... I'm really cold."

The cold had crawled through the fabric of his hoodie and he really regretted not having brought his jacket. But well, too late now. 

He turned to leave, but then frowned as Isaac nudged Derek.

"Urgh, fine," Derek said. He reached out, catching Stiles hand. His fingers curled around his wrist, all long bone and surprising heat.

"It's five minutes to my house. And it's warm. You wanna come?"

"Huh..?"

The young man first stared at the hand, then at Derek's face.

"...you don't need to pretend to be nice just because Isaac reminded you not to be such a sourwolf...?"

"Shut up Stiles," Derek said on an exhale, shaking his head lightly. But he didn't let go of his arm. "Come on. Home."

"..."

He was actually silent at that for a moment, looking at Derek with a slightly open mouth until he began to drag him on. At first he stumbled, but then he followed the wolf in surprised wonder.

"Why are you so grumpy all of a sudden..?"

"I'm not grumpy." 

"He is *always* grumpy," Isaac provided happily. Derek growled quietly at him but led the way through the woods, never letting go of Stiles' arm. His fingers felt good, even through the fabric of his sweater.

"...huh..."

Stiles couldn't help but giggle at this. Actually Derek seemed to feel a bit helpless, like... he wanted to help Stiles, but didn't know how to voice it? Or was that nothing but wishful thinking?

"Well, as handsome as the grump looks, the smile looks even better. You should try it more often."

"Hurts my mouth," Derek said sourly, but it sounded like a smile was threatening to get to the surface. Stiles heard Erica's warm giggle behind him as she followed together with Boyd and Isaac. Sticking close to their pack leader, and Stiles, too.

"It hurts your.. mouth?"

Stiles laughed at that.

"Then you should practice more. You know, around the lips are a lot of muscles and if you don't use them properly, they might even degenerate."

"A frown probably uses way more muscles," Isaac piped up. Stiles could already see the Hale house, resting quietly on the hilltop in front of them. The lights were on; it was inviting them in.

"Hah."

Stiles couldn't suppress the giggle as Derek brought him up the few stairs and then into the building. He made a keening noise of surprise as the air inside hit him pleasantly.

"Whoa... it's warm!"

"Yeah, it's cozy, isn't it?" Erica said with a hum, walking past Stiles and into the flat. Boyd was behind her, nodding in agreement and taking off his scarf in one fluid motion. 

Derek remained in the entrance area, still holding on to Stiles arm and only reluctantly letting go of him.

Stiles shook himself and snow fell off his hoodie, before he reached for his hood and took it off, revealing his newly grown hair and an almost embarrassed smile. He looked around.

"Hey, you really began to renovate this place. It looks great!”

Derek looked at him a little too long, eyes roaming across his flushed face and taking in the new shock of outgrown hair. His face gave away nothing. 

And really, the house around them looked... better. Stiles could still smell the faint whiff of smoke lingering in the air, but it was now overlaid by the scent of oranges and warm bread. The living room had been cleaned up and painted, and while the old couch was still there where he had seen it the last time, it was now covered with blankets and a pillow and in the company of two new bean bags. The other rooms seemed to look more decent, too. 

All in all Stiles felt like he came into a home, not just the broken shell of a house. It made him smile as he looked around.

"Wow. Cool. It looks really cozy... and ah, is that an open fireplace?"

Stiles eyes actually gleamed as he walked over to the living room and crouched down in front of the fire, fingers outstretched. It was warm, the wood crackling pleasantly. Derek and his pack couldn’t have been out there for long.

"Fuck, this feels good."

"Warm yourself up," the older werewolf said behind him, "and give me your sweater. Isaac, put some milk on the stove. There's hot chocolate powder above the fridge, and marshmallows, too." 

In here, Derek organized everything, and his betas followed his lead without complaints. Stiles wondered how their training went down, if Derek already taught them how to fight. To survive in a world that was pretty much against them.

"Uh...?"

He turned his head and blinked at the werewolf.

"How do you know I like hot chocolate?" he asked while standing up and slipping out of his hoodie as requested. Thankfully, the t-shirt underneath was still mostly dry, keeping him comfortable and warm enough in the well-heated room.

"Everyone likes hot chocolate," Derek said flatly, frowning. 

"Also he saw you drinking it next week near the mall," Erica added with a chipper tone. She let herself fall onto one of the bean bags, legs outstretched and snowy jacket discarded somewhere. "He totally watched you and Scott."

"Watched us?"

Now Stiles was confused and returned to glance at Derek. Isaac grabbed his hoodie and placed it over a chair before he handed a coke to Erica and water to Boyd, almost as if on autopilot.

"I was out getting groceries," Derek explained somewhat defensively. He said nothing as he could hear Isaac's quiet "yeah sure" coming from the kitchen. Even Boyd snickered under his breath. 

"Anyway," Derek continued, "you're cold. Best way to warm you up."

"Huh."

Stiles stood there, a frown on his forehead and his eyes on Derek.

"So, you're watching us? Like you did back then during Lydia's party during Scott's first full moon?"

"You make me sound like a stalker," Derek scoffed. "Back then, I merely made sure Scott would not mess up. I didn't want the entire party crowd to see who or what we really are. It was far too dangerous - "

"- for him and others," Erica completed the sentence without looking away from her perfect fingernails. "The shopping watch was something else, though. You were already done with the groceries, weren't you? And you stuck around to have an eye on Stiles...."

"On... me?" Stiles asked, utterly confused. "...seriously, why would you do that?"

"Duh, Stiles. You can be dense. Because he-" 

"That's enough, Erica," Derek said quickly, looking from Stiles to her and back again. He didn't look mortified - that much seemed to go well for him - but his eyes were narrowed slightly, like he expected the worst. 

"Alright, alright," Erica said in a warm tone, stretching. "Do I get a hot chocolate too?" 

"First one is for Stiles," Derek said in a decisive tone, before heading to the kitchen to help Isaac. He came back with a heavy mug filled to the brim. 

"Here."

"Hu...h..."

To say that Stiles was confused would be a big understatement. He looked at Boyd, who just shrugged and then left the room. He looked at Erica, who just grinned. And he looked at Isaac who actually had to bite back laughter.

"Thanks..." he murmured as he accepted the mug and then sat down. "It smells awesome!"

"Try it," Derek muttered before proceeding to put more wood into the fireplace. The blaze rose up, and Stiles felt the last of the cold creeping out of his bones bit by bit. 

Hell yeah. It felt really good. 

 

It wasn't much later that he was curled up into a blanket on the couch, chocolate already half-empty and feet folded underneath his own body. Erica and Isaac had decided to follow Boyd to wherever he was off to, leaving Derek and him alone in the living room. 

To Stiles' surprise it didn't feel awkward. Derek sat next to him, sipping what had to be tea; next to him was a small tower of books on the couch table, well-worn copies that looked like someone had read them again and again. Judging from the blanket (currently on Stiles) and pillow he assumed that this was where Derek slept, too - with less privacy than his betas, who had rooms upstairs, but a short way to the defense of his home. His own little nook that he freely shared with visitors, and now Stiles.

It was actually really nice. It was warm, and he could watch the snow falling outside.

"Thanks for the drink and the warmth..." he said in Derek's direction before he leaned back and wrapped the blanket more around himself. It was just too soft to do anything else with it.

Derek hummed, taking another sip of his tea before he set the cup aside entirely. He turned his head to Stiles. 

"I'm not... stalking you. Just that you know. All I did was keeping an eye on you after the rumors with another pack in the area started."

"Hmm..."

Stiles had a happy smile on his lips as he wiggled his toes slightly.

"I don't think you're stalking me. Don't worry. But as much as I appreciate this, I really don't think another pack of wolves would be interested in me."

"You never know. I told you, you are quite impressive for a human. And... well, your humanity could be changed easily, for some that don't respect your decisions." 

Derek shrugged, like it wasn't a thing that crossed his mind, really.

"Hmm..."

Stiles glanced at the werewolf for a bit and when he began to speak, his voice was surprisingly quiet, next to the crackling fireplace.

"...you know, Peter asked me if I wanted the bite..."

"But even Peter left you a choice, didn't he? You said no, and he respected it. Not every werewolf is like that. Some think they're superior, and can decide who lives and who dies, or who should be honored with the bite if they want to or not. If you ask me, that's arrogance, pure and simple."

Derek made a face. 

"You should make the choice yourself. It's... important."

"That's not what I wanted to say..." Stiles mumbled. "What I mean is… I refused. Because I wouldn't want him to be my alpha."

"...Just him?" Derek asked after a moment of silence. And Stiles couldn't be sure, but he seemed to sound almost hopeful.

"Well..."

Stiles shrugged and stared at his chocolate now.

"...if I ever would get turned to a werewolf, which I don't want to right now... I wouldn't mind you to do it."

"...." 

Derek remained silent at this, staring at Stiles. But his expression softened, warmed up, and he cast his eyes down with the hint of a smile on his lips. 

"One day, I would be honored. But not now. You enjoy being a human, and I see nothing wrong with it..."

"Well, thank you!", Stiles said with a laugh before he reached over and tried to punch Derek lightly on his shoulder. He tried to sound playfully affronted, slipping back into the security of their mocking behavior.

To his surprise the werewolf let him touch him, didn't move an inch from the spot where he was sitting. He turned his gaze back to Stiles. 

"What?" he said, trying to sound gruff and somewhat failing. Oh, so he did care. Much more so than he wanted Stiles to know.

"Hah!"

Stiles actually laughed as he grabbed the pillow and threw it right into Derek's face. And he hit him. Square in the face. 

Derek made a breathless sound that was close to an 'oof', this time actually falling back and almost toppling over the tower of books. He snarled, but in a surprisingly playful way, snatching the pillow and turning it into his own weapon, swatting it at Stiles while trying to avoid his mug of chocolate. Stiles almost back and his laughter filled the room as he actually squealed and brought his arms up to defend himself.

"Mercy! Mercy!"

"Never," Derek replied, his arm shooting out and pressing Stiles into the couch cushions as he discarded the pillow, starting to tickle him with his other hand instead. He seemed to follow the innocent, pure sound of Stiles' laughter, grinning to himself as he hovered above him. 

Close. Awfully close.

Stiles trashed underneath him, his face red from all the breathless amusement, before he finally stilled and looked up with a slightly open mouth.

He could feel Derek's breath on his and could almost touch the werewolf's nose with his own.

"Ha...h... you're a mean wolf."

"I am," Derek said warmly, their breath mingling. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, before leaning in slightly, rubbing his nose against Stiles' still slightly cold one. "The worst, actually," he murmured softly.

The deed made Stiles giggle again. He didn't move away, instead he moved his head a bit and bumped his nose against Derek's.

"You should practice to be nicer."

"You wanna be my teacher?" Derek asked under his breath. It was as if the air around him grew thicker, everything zeroing in on the slight point of contact, of touch. Of warmth. 

Stiles felt his heart flutter as Derek blinked slowly, like a cat that slowly learned to trust his human. He was so close. So utterly close.

And suddenly Stiles' throat felt dry and his heartbeat so intense and hammering that he was sure Derek must be able to hear it.

"I could try...", he almost rasped.

Derek cocked his head slightly, as if listening. Stiles had the feeling that he zoned in on his heartbeat, following the melody, leaning even closer as if drawn in by the pitter-patter of sounds, of life. He hummed as he looked into Stiles' eyes. 

"I could, too," he murmured. "I really could."

"Yes... you really could..." was all Stiles muttered back, actually lost in the wolf's eyes. He had never admitted it to himself before but he loved their odd color, and it wasn't often that he got such a good glimpse, that he was so close. So dangerously close. "Derek..."

"You think so?" Derek asked, sounding genuinely curious. But then he leaned in, and the rasp of his stubble ghosted against Stiles' skin as he rubbed his nose on his cheek. Marking him, Stiles was pretty sure. 

"What if I do?"

"If you... let me teach you?" Stiles asked almost breathlessly. Derek smelled… good. And he looked so good, too, and - oh Jesus. Stiles’ heartbeat was quick and slowly but surely the room really got far too warm around them.

"Yeah... Yeah, I think I do," the werewolf replied, somewhat out of the blue, letting out a slow, steady breath... before pressing his lips to Stiles' cheek, warm and open and incredibly alive, dragging a trail of heat across his flushing skin.

Stiles wasn't really sure what they were actually talking about anymore. His mind almost crashed when he felt these lips on his skin, and he let out a sound very close to a groan.

And Derek remained close, his nose and lips touching him, moving across his cheek and up, up, until he felt the ghost of his lips on his own, a chaste, slow, almost tentative hint of a kiss that made him burn up from the inside. Derek didn't rush, didn't even press insistently like he had expected him to - just kissed him with the barest touch, butterfly-soft and warm.

And Stiles stared up as if his brain has problems registering what just happened.

Then he suddenly reached up, wrapping his arms around Derek's neck as he leaned into the kiss and even deepened it with a hum.

The werewolf made a startled noise against his lips, opening his mouth a little and giving Stiles room to attack his mouth with his own. He quickly recovered, however, curling his hand around the back of Stiles' head, holding his head steady and kissing him like his life depended on it. 

"Oh god, finally," Erica's voice said from the doorway, sudden and unexpected enough that Stiles nearly bit into Derek's tongue and both men drew back from one another with a noise of surprise. Erica just walked past them towards the kitchen. 

"We were all waiting, man!"

"W...what???"

Stiles was more than just red, and asked the question with a stutter, but made no move to push Derek off, even as Isaac gave him a thumbs up and followed Erica.

"Oh damn," Derek muttered, pressing his face into the side of Stiles' face to hide his clear mortification. But then a bout of laughter escaped him, and Stiles felt him close his eyes, lashes brushing his skin gently.

"They were taking bets for a while."

"Bets?"

For a brief moment Stiles tensed.

"...that you'd kiss me... or what?"

"No. Just on how long it would take him to communicate his feelings." 

Boyd smirked at them from the door, nodding in appreciation. He seemed content to see his Alpha like this, face half-hidden and growling defenselessly. 

"He liked you for a good while. Was actually pining, you could say. It's good that he finally decided to do something."

"................"

Stiles stared at that. He blinked and opened his mouth, but no sound came out. The tense feeling disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and he slowly turned his face so that he could look at the wolf.

"...for real?"

Derek had stopped trying to hide himself. He looked at Stiles, multicolored eyes open and calm and ridiculously attractive, and nodded. 

"For real. But I'm sorry that my betas are ridiculous."

"You are an idiot!"

At that Stiles indeed punched Derek, looking like he was pouting below his ever-blooming smile.

"I like you for so long and though you didn't like me back! Argh! You could have spared me some lonely night if you'd said something!"

"You... are you serious right now? You like me? I always thought you tolerated me at your best," Derek said, brows rising up on his forehead and eyes suddenly wide, like he couldn't believe it. 

His betas, however, almost fell over one another in fits of giggles as the werewolf rushed forward to kiss Stiles again and again, holding his face between his hands and pressing their noses together in an affectionate, warm head-rub.

"I'm so serious! I thought you just tolerated me... argh, you're a stupid wolf!", Stiles muttered between kisses before he grabbed Derek by his hair and glanced over to the betas.

"Out. Go for a walk!"

Isaac laughed and saluted as they all tumbled towards the door.


End file.
